no pasta pasta salad.

every summer i crave my mama’s pasta salad. it’s really simple and light and perfect for hot days. i have been avoiding pasta lately, even the gluten free kind, so i wanted to try something different with the basic idea of pasta salad. enter quinoa. this turned out really great, light, simple and pasta free. you can use it as a main or side dish, add feta cheese, chickpeas or almonds for some extra protein.

ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted & halved

1/2 cup cucumber, chopped

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

1 cup artichoke hearts, thinly sliced

for the dressing: 1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

directions:

cook the quinoa per package directions (i always use veg broth instead of water to cook quinoa, the flavor makes a world of difference)